How I joined the ranks

[Jon1]

I had returned fromm a business trip to Japan and within days, my son picked up chickenpox. Several weeks later I began to feel like a zombie at work and went to my doctor who declared that I had the early stages of chickenpox, aged 45. I was booked off work for 12 months and have never worked since then, then my problems started with pains in my heels and feet, stiffness in the mornings. Back to the doctor who declared I had psoriatic arthiritis, months later psoriasis made its appearance. A long story short, I now have about 15 medical problems incl sleep apnea.  Was it all a coincidence  or was it triggered by the weakend immune system from chickenpox.

My first machine I had to purchase because the waiting list was 2 years at the local hospital was the resmed autoset spirit, which I still have and works perfectly. The first night on my machine was aa a blur to me and the next morning my wife said that she checked several times to see if I was alive because I did not move at all from the moment I put my head down to the moment I got up. My machine and I are like twin brothers and we stick together like mud on a wall.

[Ockrocket]

Welcome to the Apnea Board forum..

Good to hear at least something is working out right for you. 

[Jon1]

Thanks for the welcome. Its nice to know one is not alone in our fight. Many times, the going gets tough, but we put our shoulder to the wheel and push back.

[dosco]

Welcome aboard and it's good to learn that your apnea issue is under control.

Did you have chickenpox as a kid? I'm guessing not. Nonetheless it's nasty, I'm 46 and about 4 years ago, while under a crazy amount of (mostly self-induced) stress, I came down with the shingles. It's likely that I picked it up from my oldest child, who (despite being immunized against chickenpox) had about 14 "pox" on her body.

The shingles is bad news. I had it on my head, it started on the back of my neck and migrated toward my face. It got very bad as my skin started to swell, break out, and weep ... I was on a business trip when the swelling and breakout happened, and upon my return I went straight from the airport to the doctor. He was extremely concerned it would progress to my eyes or ears, and there was I could have permanent vision or hearing problems. He put me on antivirals, codeine (for the intense pain), and prednisone. The codeine did absolutely nothing for the pain (so I stopped) and the prednisone was a super-stimulant for me (kept me up for 24 hours straight, I was totally wired) so I stopped that as well.

It eventually cleared up, but I have (apparently) permanent neuropathy on the back of my head and on my jawline.

Anyhow, I hope you're able to get your other issues squared away.

Warm Regards-
Dave

[Jon1]

Hi Dave, Shingles is my 2nd name. I get it every 3 mnths or so and know all about it. I normally get it on my rump.but it has spread up my torso. When my doctors see me coming they throw all the meds at me. Yes, the apna is well controlled and I sleep like a baby now, although I did end up it a&e several times before I got the machine unable to breathe and so on.

[Phill]

Interesting that the waiting time for a machine from "OUR NHS" was two years, although I believe my diagnosis and subsequent treatment was abysmal, I only waited a few weeks for actual the machine.

Considering I was given the talk that if I did not start treatment immediately I would be at risk of heart attack or stroke, waiting for two years to be given a machine borders on incompetence.

My Apnea journey started with an investigation for suspected Epilepsy, and flowed into Apnea, though my symptoms have never really matched up with those described on the site.

Best of luck.

[Jon1]

I should have mentioned that this was 15 years ago. Oooops !
Sleep apnea was a new thing back then and I also could not wait for the NHS, so dug into my own pocket, although I now have a s9 unit from the local hospital. The autoset spirit is my back up

[chill]

Welcome!  I had no idea that Japan could be so dangerous! 

[Jon1]

LoL ! The moral of the story is to make sure your kids / grandchildren all catch chickenpox when they are young, if not find someone who has it and let them touch those blisters. Its ruined my life, but I cannot blame my parents or my child or even Japan.

[Beej]

An adult shingles vaccine is available. It is a type of live virus, so if you are on any immune suppressing meds (ex chemo, or arthritis meds), you probably shouldn't take it as you could get disseminated shingles (everywhere on your body including ears and eyes).

I had a small patch of shingles at the top of the back of one leg. I was lucky that I'd had back surgery on that side and many of the superficial nerves had been cut, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I also discovered that BoilEase helped as both a topical anesthetic and as a drying agent for the blisters. The OTC product Abbreva, for a related herpes type virus might help topically too, but is pricey.